Madison, Wisconsin: The drive, Mustard museum, Zoo, Art museum, Dinner, Opera in the Park, and Walk Downtown

-- The Drive to Madison --

I forgot to take a picture of Bob and Ginger for my blog before I left their house this morning. Ginger had to be at work by 9:30 am, and Bob works later today. As I was leaving Oregon and driving north, I took a photo of the rock river that runs past Oregon and the Black Hawk statue across the river in Lowden State Park. 

As I drove north from Oregon to Madison, Wisconsin, my Google maps settings were set to avoid toll roads. The app sent me off the highway before it turned into a toll road, but I was surprised at some of the small side roads it took me on before getting me back onto a highway. It is interesting to see the countryside, but sometimes during my excursions, the GPS has chosen to lead me onto gravel roads, whch seems a little unnecessary. Today, at least, the sometimes narrow roads were all paved!

When I got to Madison, I filled up my gas tank at Costco and got a slice of pizza for lunch. Dan's parents had told me about a mustard museum, and it was near the Costco, so that was my first stop.

- The Mustard Museum -- 

The museum has walls of mustard from around the world downstairs, with labels on the shelves indicating where the mustard is from. One of the shelves has some mustard from Finland, where the mustard is sold in tubes.

I hadn't heard before visiting the museum today that Saskatchewan, Canada, is the mustard capital of the world, or that mustard has health benefits such as lowering blood pressure and triglycerides and increasing good cholesterol (HDL). 

The main floor of the museum is the sales floor, which has a sampling station and a multitude of different types of mustard for sale. I wasn't interested in buying and carrying any jars of mustard on my trip, so I didn't try any samples, either.

-- Henry Vilas Zoo --

After the mustard museum, I visited the Henry Vilas Zoo, where I saw a variety of animals... a rhinosarus, lions, tigers, a river otter, camels, porcupines, wolvernes, monkeys, an orangutan, and birds, among others.

I enjoyed seeing the animals -- especially the wolverines, because I hadn't remembered seeing wolverines up close before. Even though the animals are well taken care of, and it is nice that we get to see them, I coudn't help feeling sorry that they are held captive in a zoo instead of living in the wild.

-- Chazen Museum of Art --

Parking in a big city can be a pain, and Madison falls into that camp. When I finally found a parking space near the Chazen Museum of Art on the University of Wisconsin campus, the parking meter only took cash. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough quarters for the amount of time I wanted to park, and I didn't see anywhere nearby that I could get cash, so I moved on.

I found another parking space further away that didn't have a meter, so I parked there and walked to the museum. The art museum was a bit of a disappointment, but I saw a few pieces that I liked and thought were interesting.

For example, I found this Male Crocodile Mask interesting, from the Nuna people of Africa.  They consider the crocodile to be a powerful guardian, and the patterns and designs have symbolic meanings.

The museum has a photograph of a similar mask being worn in a Crocodile masquerade in a village in Burkina Faso, Africa.

Another item I liked in the museum is this ceremonial Nigerian drum.

-- Dinner at the Memorial Union --

After visiting the museum, I was ready for dinner, and walked to the Univeristy of Wisconsin's Memorial Union, on the shores of Lake Mendota, where I ate a bratwurst with sauerkraut. The Memorial Union is a relaxing place to hang out, eat, and socialize.

A statue of the school mascot sits on a pedestal near the shore of the lake.

On the way back to my car, I passed by a church and a building that welcomed people to come as they are: "Bring all of who you are". I like that message.

-- Community Opera at Point Picnic --

When I was looking for things to do today, I came across a notice about a free 50-minute program titled "an evening of ghostly narratives and enchanting opera" being put on by the local Fresco opera company. The operatic gathering was being held at 7 pm at the tip of Point Picnic, on Lake Mendota, so I drove to the parking area and hiked the trail to the point.

The subject matter of witches in the forest casting spells was a bit off the wall, but the lakeside setting and the campfire were nice, and it was fun hearing the operatic singers and listening to the haunting tales.

-- Walking Downtown --

After the mini-opera, I drove downtown and walked to the capitol. Even though tonight is Thursday night and a school night, the streets were crowded with students and others out for a good time.

It's late, and I'm spending the night in the Planet Fitness parking lot. Tomorrow I'll leave Madison and head west.

John Deere in Moline and Grand Detour, Illinois; Visiting Dan's Parents in Oregon, Illinois

-- John Deere Pavilion in Moline --

The John Deere Pavilion in Moline is not as interactive as the Caterpillar Visitor Center in Peoria. There are no simulators, but I was able to sit in the cab of a large combine and a tractor.

The pavilion is one large room with several pieces of equipment and one employee to answer questions. The John Deere product line is mainly centered around farming. The largest piece of equipment in the room is an X9 Combine, and it is huge! It has different configurations, depending on the crop being harvested, and has an interesting array of connectors in the back.

I climbed into the cab and looked down at the showroom. I also had the employee take a photo of me sitting in the cab.

John Deere was originally a blacksmith, and made plows before branching out into other equipment like tractors. He was also an abolitionist, and active in the community.

The pavilion has some legacy tractors on display. A Model D is on display, and there are videos celebrating the Model D's 100th anniversary.

There is a 4010 Diesel with its engine showing, a John Deere snowmobile, a 4x4, a modern tractor with treads over the wheels, lawn mowers, and a bulldozer.

 They also have a few vintage children's toys on display.

The gift shop has some expensive Lego toys. The first one, below, is priced at over $40, and the second one, which includes hydraulics, costs well over $200.

It was interesting to see the John Deere equipment, but I spent a lot less time at the John Deere Pavilion today than I did at the Caterpillar Visitor Center yesterday.

The John Deere Pavilion is next to the train tracks in Moline, and I saw back to back freight trains after I left the pavilion and went to my car. The most interesting part is that the two freight trains were separated by only two minutes! I watched the track as the trains rolled over one of the connectors, and was surprised to see how much the connector rose and fell with the weight of the wheels. I've got to think that much play in the tracks isn't normal!

Since I spent less time than expected at the John Deere Pavilion, I drove back across the Mississippi to Davenport, Iowa, and had another ice cream cone at Whitey's before continuing to my next stop -- the John Deere Historic Site in Grand Detour, Illinois.

-- John Deere Historic Site in Grand Detour --

I really liked the tour at the John Deere Historic Site in Grand Detour -- especially the part when we visited the blacksmith.

The tour started in a visitor center with a theater. An old wooden plow blade was on display, and compared against John Deere's sharp, steel bladed plow. His plows were durable, worked well, and caught on quickly among other farmers.

We watched a short movie about John Deere's life. Archeologists did some digging, with the help of a metal detector and an old lithograph of the property layout, and found the location of John Deere's original blacksmith shop. The room where we saw the movie surrounds the archealogy dig of the blacksmith shop, ans we sat on benches where we could see both the movie and the excavations.

After the movie, we went to a replica blacksmith shop, where we were greeted by a blacksmith. The blacksmith on duty spent most of his career shoeing horses, before he took this job. He was very personable and had good stories to tell. He made a decorative leaf out of an iron rod while he talked with us.

It was interesting that he could tell the temperature of the iron based on its color.

Farmers would hang ears of corn to dry on the wall, to be used as the seeds for next year's crop. Although nobody knows exactly what John Deere hung on the wall of his blacksmith shop, historians have taken a stab at it, and have hung tools and drying corn on the walls here.

John Deere was a hard worker. At the time he lived here, neighbors commented that they heard him hammering away late into the night.

After visiting the blacksmith, we toured John Deere's house. When he first built it, it only included the taller section with the squared-off roof, but he later expanded it. He had dug a well for water, and didn't want to dig another one, so when he expanded the house, he left the well where it was -- and it ended up being on the porch of the addition.

The interior of the house is decorated with furniture from the time period, but the docent mentioned that much of it wouldn't have been things John Deere could have afforded on his blacksmith wages. The floors and walls are original, though.

They probably wouldn't have afforded wallpaper, either. Notice the ropes on the bed frame, below the straw matteress. The ropes would have to be tightened from time to time, as they stretched -- sleep tight!

The wooden bathtubs used during that time period would typically be set up near a window, so the bath water could be thrown out the window after everyone finished bathing. They would bathe oldest to youngest (don't throw the baby out with the dirty bath water 😄).

-- Visiting Dan's Parents in Oregon, Illinois --

I always enjoy seeing Dan's parents -- Bob and Ginger. I've been to their house several times in the past -- for the 4th of July, before and after fishing trips to Canada, and during Oregon's Autumn on Parade festival. They are very welcoming and make me feel at home.

I also saw them in North Carolina earlier this Summer. They let me stay with them in a beach rental at Carolina beach when they took Dan and the members of his family who could go to the beach.

Bob and Ginger are very nice, and it was good to see them again. Ginger fixed ribs for dinner, which were really good. Then we sat around and talked, and watched some TV while I did a batch of laundry. Visiting them is like visiting family -- like a home away from home.